Are you struggling to get the most from your talent investment? Temporary-to-hire staffing, or “temp-to-hire” is a talent management option that offers unique business benefits. Still, while many companies are familiar with temporary or contract workers, the notion of “temporary-to-hire” might sound a bit confusing.

Temp-to-Hire: An Introduction

To break it down simply, temp-to-hire employees are brought on for the duration of a predetermined contract (the “temp” part of the equation). At the end of the contract, the employer may decide to hire that employee permanently, or to simply let the contract expire. In a way, you could also call temp-to-hire, temp+! Businesses get the benefits of temporary employees, with the capacity for full-time hires.

But why is temp-to-hire the right choice for your business? Here are four key benefits:

Opportunity – Sometimes you aren’t sure what skills or personality traits you’re looking for in a hire until you see that person on the job. Temporary-to-hire gives employers an opportunity to try out an employee before deciding whether a full-time hire is the best choice. If you decide that the candidate isn’t the best person for the permanent job, the employee simply moves on to another position after the contract has expired.

Cost Savings – When an HR department is directed to fill a permanent position, HR employees can spend dozens (if not hundreds) of hours posting job ads, reading resumes and interviewing candidates. Once a hire is made, the cost of onboarding and training can also add up. So what happens if that person ends up being a bad hire? Lost hours of productivity, and more importantly – a significant hit to your budget. Sourcing and interviewing of temporary-to-hire candidates is typically handled by your staffing partner, freeing you to focus on your business goals while assessing your temp-to-hire candidate.

Planning – Managing your talent to workflow can be a challenge, but it’s critical to reaching your short- and long-term goals. Temp-to-hire staffing allows you to assess whether a permanent new hire is necessary for your business to maximize its talent investment and reach productivity goals.

Flexibility – With temp-to-hire, your organization has the ultimate flexibility to have needed resources on hand while finalizing budgets for the year, or when waiting to see how any legislative changes will affect personnel budgets. Should you decide that full-time hires are the right choice for your organization, simply choose to bring those employees on board permanently after the contract expires.

While temporary-to-hire employees may no longer be a mystery, you might still have questions about how they can help you maximize your talent investment. We’re here to help! Give us a call here at Helpmates. We specialize in helping businesses like yours maximize their talent investment through strategic staffing.